Small Hours
by hedgeys19
Summary: Dead Poets Society AU focusing on Charlie and Meeks, told non-chronologically. Includes a few genderbends and slight changes to characters.
1. prologue

**nyu, second year, september**

Charlie had no idea how he had gotten here— Meeks, of all the girls he could have had, standing in front of him in nothing but a sexy little teddy. Meeks? Really?

But she was gorgeous, despite what he might have thought of her five or six years earlier. The messy curls all tossed to one side, those luscious thighs, her—

"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me, or are you going to take this off of me?" she asked, shifting her weight to one foot and crossing her arms. She had obscured his view of his favorite part. Her breasts.

Oh, he knew how he had gotten here. He knew very well.

"Sorry, I just wasn't expecting that. At all." Charlie shut his textbook.

"Is this a bad time? I can go if you were studying," they both knew that wasn't what he had been doing, and they both knew she wasn't going to leave.

"My roommate won't be back for the weekend. He's in the Bronx with his girlfriend," Charlie stood up and passed her, locking the door. Just in case. They were always careful.

"I know." A sly grin crossed Meeks' face.

"You really know everything, don't you?"

"Only you would room with someone that leaves every weekend, including the first one of the year. Smart move, Charles," This time it was Charlie with the sly grin. Yes, he had picked his roommate well. Todd Anderson, the legend himself. Who would have thought that a Journalism major and a Business Management major would get along so well?

"Alright, alright. Get that sexy ass over here." He flipped the light switch.


	2. one

**welton, junior year, may**

"Keira, we're never going to get along, okay? The group dynamic works fine. Nobody really likes Cameron all that much, either, and—"

"Meeks, could you just shut the fuck up for a second?" Meeks stopped in her tracks as Keira kept walking, astounded. Her best friend, telling her to shut the fuck up? She didn't think so. Meeks was starting to get tired of being the one they all came running to for homework help. Yes, she was a literal genius, with an IQ above 140 and the grades to go with it. But she was tired of it.

Keira realized that her shorter friend had stopped and turned to face her, her expression a bit kinder.

"I didn't mean that, I'm sorry. It's been a rough day. Come on, let's get to lunch." Meeks felt her cheeks getting hot as she caught up to Keira and they entered the dining hall.

The rectangular table in the left corner was the table the group had occupied since the boys were in eighth grade and the girls joined in ninth. Neil Perry, as always, sat at the center of the table. He was the founder of their circle of friends, as they all regarded him, and was also one of the most outspoken and popular. His father was the epitome of the American Dream, a self-made man who had always wanted to be a doctor, and therefore wanted his son to become one. Neil, however, was constantly trying on new hats to see what he was truly interested in. So far, only writing had stuck, much to his father's dismay. He had just been voted Editor of the Yearbook Club for the upcoming year, a more prestigious position than President, but his father didn't really care.

Charles "Charlie" Dalton sat across from Neil, as the two were often in some sort of comical debate or heated argument. They were best friends, and had been since the age of ten. The two had also decided to room together that year, though it had proven to be somewhat of a damper on their friendship. Charlie came from old money and was born to be a businessman— he was as slick as they came and could convince anyone to believe anything within ten minutes. He had a tendency for pranks and slacking on homework, though, which didn't help too much in the grades department. Charlie was undyingly loyal to his friends, even serving multiple detentions for Neil because he knew his father would cut Neil's head off.

Keira Overstreet always sat to Neil's right, his other best friend. They had been raised together, and though they weren't as close as they were before Neil had met Charlie, they were like siblings. Keira was gifted in speaking her mind, arguing whatever point she was given, and, of course, the looks department. She turned every head at Welton on a daily basis but didn't give anyone except her friends the time of day. Keira had already decided that she was going to be a lawyer and studied intensely to make sure her grades wouldn't hold her back.

Richard Cameron sat to the other side of Neil, the only one of the group who still tolerated him. Richard also came from old money, and though he wasn't richer than Charlie, believed himself to be. He also believed himself to be a ladies' man, a genius, and a bad boy, of which he was none. However, he was book smart and often helped with the brunt work of Charlie's pranks, so the group kept him around, mostly to make fun of when he wasn't with them.

Stephanie Meeks sat across from Keira, next to her sworn enemy, Charlie. The two only spoke to each other during study group, when she helped him in almost every subject. Meeks tutored all of them in almost every subject. She was at Welton on a full scholarship and hadn't had many friends before arriving. The group was thankful for her, though they didn't show it very well. She was determined to become the first female valedictorian of Welton, which she was well on her way to doing.

Gerard Pitts sat on Charlie's other side. He was very quiet, wanted to go to Yale, and played basketball, and that was the extent of what most of the group knew about him. Gerard had been one of Neil's first friends when he had come to Welton, which was why he had never left him behind. Gerard was content to just sit and listen to the group's conversations and tinker on radios with Meeks when the two had free time.

"Honestly, I'm just sick and tired of eating this shit all the time. Can't we order a goddamn pizza this weekend, Perry?" Charlie was asking as Keira and Meeks sat down with their plates. Cameron laughed at the notion.

"You think Nolan will let you get away with ordering a pizza?" Neil laughed at the comment.

"I think it's worth a try. If we all pitch in a buck it should cover a medium, right?"

"If we all pitch in three, we can get two larges," Charlie said as he shoved a piece of meatloaf into his mouth. Meeks glanced at Keira, who shook her head.

"I'm not going to watch this blow up in your faces, so I won't be contributing," Cameron said, "but if it works, I'll join next time."

"Come on, Cam, live a little! What's the harm in taking a risk?" Charlie asked.

"For real. It's the last weekend of junior year, plus," Neil leaned in, "I have a bottle of whiskey. We can break into the yearbook office, pull the shades, and have ourselves a little party. Is everybody in?" Everybody except Cameron and Meeks nodded.

"Of course you two aren't nodding. Buzzkills," Charlie commented. Meeks rolled her eyes as Cameron shook his head.

"I have too much at stake to get in trouble. Especially the last weekend of junior year," Cameron got up as he spoke, picking up his tray and leaving the table.

"Well, more pizza for us," Neil resumed picking at his meatloaf as Keira began to tell a story about debate club the previous night. Meeks glanced around the table, wondering if the shaky bonds between them all would hold over the summer.


	3. two

**welton, senior year, november**

Meeks heard a quick knock on the door, put down her book, and stood up to grab her robe, glancing at the clock. It was already past two— and why hadn't Keira come through the window like she normally did? Something had gone wrong. Tying her robe shut, she hurried to the door, and opened it to find Charlie practically holding Keira up.

"Mind if I step in?" he asked. She opened the door wider and glanced both ways down the hall before shutting and locking it again.

"What the hell?" Meeks asked, her tone almost as furious as her eyes. Charlie sat Keira down on the bed and glanced around the room.

"We need water, and we need a lot of it," he said, "and she's still going to be puking tomorrow," Charlie picked up a mug from what he assumed was Keira's desk and handed it to Meeks. She stared at him, then at Keira, then at Charlie again.

"Are you going to bother explaining to me what the hell is going on, and why she looks like _that?"_ Keira was struggling to keep her eyes open, but there was still a stupid grin pasted on her face. She started mumbling about something and playing with her bracelet.

"Get the water first and I'll explain. Trust me, it's important," Charlie sounded genuine, so Meeks left the room and walked as quietly as she could to the bathrooms, filled the mug up with water and made sure nobody was patrolling the hall while she walked back. She locked the door again and handed the mug to Keira, who was still sober enough to take the cup and drink it on her own, then turned to find Charlie sitting on her bed.

"I didn't tell you it was ok to sit on my bed."

"Well, I'm already here. Do you want me to explain?" Meeks crossed her arms and stared again. "That's a yes."

"Of course it is. Is she going to be alright?"

"Yes, she's going to be fine. She'll be hungover as fuck tomorrow, but she's fine. Basically me and Neil ran into her while we were all walking to the same party. Neil's back already, he's fucking some girl in his room so Todd is staying in my bed, which means I'm out of a room. Wasn't planning on coming back tonight, but Keira obviously needed my help,"

"That doesn't exactly explain why she looks more than drunk."

"She's just really wasted, that's all. The girl she likes— yes, we all know, Meeks, we figured it out— was there with her boyfriend, so Keira just started drinking whatever people would hand her. Never a good idea. I came out of the bathroom with this girl and saw her just sitting there on the—"

"What were you doing in the bathroom?" Charlie met Meeks's gaze. He noticed mostly curiosity, but also the tiniest spark of jealousy, and decided to spare her. Charlie was many things, but he was not a tactless idiot. He had started noticing Meeks acting differently around him in the past few months. Ever since they had smoked together, then ended up walking around the grounds of Welton and talking about more than he could have imagined for two hours, something had been different between them. He hadn't decided yet how he felt about the matter, but obviously she did.

"That's not important. I saw Keira just sitting on the couch and knew she needed to get back, so that's how we ended up here,"

"Are you guys still talking? I'm trying to relax over here," Keira said far too loudly, slurring, and Meeks and Charlie's heads snapped to look at her. She was now sprawled out on her bed, after spilling half the water all over herself, getting the mud from her shoes on her comforter, and still grinning. Meeks sighed and went through Keira's dresser, pulling out pajamas, then placed the mug back on the desk.

"Um, for future reference— not that you'll need it— we've popped the screen out of our window. It's never fully locked, so that's how she usually gets back in. I've just… I've never seen her this bad," Keira's head lolled back and Meeks reached over to bring her back to a sitting position.

"I'll help you get in her into her pajamas, it'll probably take the two of us." Meeks nodded, and with the promise of more 'vodka'— just more mugs full of water— and lots of coaxing, the two got Keira into her pajamas and under the covers. She was asleep in minutes, Meeks putting a pillow behind her back so she couldn't roll over.

The two sat back down on Meeks's bed, Charlie taking off his shoes so he wouldn't ruin her blankets. He watched how she sat herself, how she lifted her glasses to rub an eye, how she looked at him. Charlie just couldn't read the expression in her eyes.

"So… here we are again," she said, just staring at him.

"I don't think I can make it back without getting caught." he was lying and they both knew it, but there was nowhere for him to sleep in the boy's dormitory besides the floor of his own room. The thought of it was pitiful to both of them.

She sighed. "You can sleep on my bed, let me see where I put my extra blankets," Meeks started to get up, but he put a hand on her arm.

"It's fine, I'll sleep on the ground. Just letting me stay for the night is enough,"

"But you brought back Keira."

"That's what friends do for each other. I wouldn't just leave her there to be taken advantage of,"

"Thank you. I don't know if I said that yet, but thank you, so, so much," Charlie nodded, unsure what to say. He felt that 'you're welcome' wouldn't be genuine, because he wasn't doing it to please anyone. He did it because it was the right thing, and Keira was one of his closest friends. If Neil had found out that he _himself_ left the person he showed up with for a girl, he would be mortified. But Charlie knew it was the only thing he could say.

"You're welcome, just… just don't tell Neil, okay? He'd feel terrible." It was her turn to nod, and as a splatter of rain hit the window she turned around to look. Charlie stared at her while she watched the rain, unsure what to think of her.

He didn't hate Meeks. He had never hated Meeks, despite what their little group liked to perpetuate. The two just hadn't taken an immediate liking to each other when they first met in the eighth grade. She was socially awkward, Charlie mistook it for being stuck up and conceited. But over the past four years, he had found her to be incredibly down to earth and humble. She never bragged about her high grades, just continued working hard to earn them. When the unofficial class ranks had been posted on the bulletin board a week earlier, Meeks silently approached the board, nodded at her name being number one, then walked away without a word. He respected her, and was thankful that she tutored him in practically every subject for nothing in return. Yet the Dead Poets Society insisted on making them enemies, perhaps for drama, perhaps because it was what they had always done.

So as he watched Meeks watch the rain, Charlie felt a little twinge in his heart. It had been a while since he had had real feelings beyond just wanting to fuck a girl. But the girl sitting next to him, she was a girl who he knew he couldn't just fuck and walk away from. She was going to be the one that potentially tamed him, the one who he confided in, the one who his friends would say was his 'perfect match.' Charlie wasn't sure at that moment how he knew that, but something was telling him it was true.

Meeks turned back from watching the window and Charlie averted his gaze to Keira as to not look creepy. She inhaled, running a hand through her curls.

"She's going to complain tomorrow. Real, real bad. And be so sick."

"I know," Meeks sighed for what seemed the millionth time, and pushed herself off the bed, rifling through the closet for her spare blankets. They had been experiencing unusually warm weather, so she had yet to put the warmer blankets onto the bed yet.

"I have three pillows, so you can have your pick, if you'd like." Charlie thought while she continued searching, and he knew if he didn't suggest his idea, it wouldn't happen.

"Meeks," she froze at the sound of her name on his tongue, "we could just both sleep on the bed. I'm tall but not wide, and you're tiny." She turned back around, a mixture of confusion and shock on her face.

"What if they come in?"

"The door's locked, and there's no reason for them to come in here anyways, it'll be quiet. Just shut the curtains so anyone passing can't see the room in the morning and we'll be fine," Meeks looked between the door and the window, then made her way to the latter and pulled the curtains together. She turned off the lights and Charlie let her have the side of the bed closest to the wall. As Meeks got comfortable, he pulled the blankets over them and laid there for a second, just listening to her breathing. She turned onto her side, facing him.

"Charlie?" he turned onto his side to to face her.

"Yes?"

"Do you think all of us will stay friends after we graduate?" he remembered Meeks saying at one point that she hadn't really had any friends before coming to Welton. Charlie turned onto his back again, thinking.

"I think so, yeah. We've all been friends this long, why wouldn't it continue?" in reality, Charlie had no idea. He honestly believed that once they graduated, everyone except him, Keira, and Neil were going to go their separate ways. The three were the core of the Dead Poets, the original friends. Keira and Neil had practically grown up together and Charlie was their third Musketeer. Cameron had shown up one day and somehow managed to stay, Pitts was the first person Neil became friends with at Welton, and Neil brought Meeks to study group to tutor him in math one day. Todd was now Neil's roommate, which meant he practically had to be friends with them. The rest was history.

But now, now they were bonded by the Dead Poets Society. Everything that happened in that cave was sacred and had brought the seven together more than Charlie had ever thought it would. Truthfully, he didn't feel all that much closer to Cameron, who barely showed up half the time anyways, but the others? That cave had changed them.

Charlie watched Meeks fall asleep and almost smiled when her head rolled onto his shoulder. He slipped an arm underneath her and wrapped it around her back, pulling the blankets up.


End file.
